Marjorie Clayman’s Writing Portfolio
Professional writing profile of Marjorie Clayman
Have you ever encountered ivy in a lovely little flower bed? Have you then tried to pull up the ivy? Man, that is not fun if your goal is complete banishment. However, if you can enjoy the humor of life, ivy is also really pretty amazing. It can start anywhere, climb anything, tangle around any object, living or inanimate, and its desire to remain wherever it is seems nearly unstoppable at times. Ivy can break down brick walls, in fact.
You could learn something from ivy.
There is a tale from China about two young brothers. The younger brother’s name was Chang. But the older brother, well, he had a very very long name, as was the custom. His full name was Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo Chari Bari Ruchi Pip Peri Pembo. Now, even though they had been told not to, the two little boys loved playing near a well, which was very deep and therefore very dangerous. One day, an awful thing happened, and Chang fell into the well.
Are you familiar with this story? When I was a kid, my mom would read the 1968 version of the tale to my brother and me (this charming puppet show uses as a script that version of the story). The moral of the story is that having a super-long name that takes so long to say can actually be very detrimental. When Tikki Tikki Tembo falls into the well, it takes so long for everyone to say his name as they look for help that he very nearly drowns (in some versions he does drown). On the other hand, Chang gets saved very quickly because his name is so short.
What can this possibly have to do with Social Media?
[Read more…] about The Social Media implications of Tikki Tikki Tembo
When you think of Social Media, you probably do not think about a man who lived several centuries ago, who wore foofy collars and who, if one can believe the paintings, had very well trimmed facial hair. However, when you are thinking about how to engage with people in the online world, just such a fellow can serve you quite well. His name is William Shakespeare.
There are all kinds of lessons you can borrow from good ole Bill. I chose four, and here they are.
[Read more…] about Four lessons on engaging from William Shakespeare
Awhile back, Becky McRay wrote a post called Improve your small business blogging with a 100 post series. She in turn referenced Chris Brogan, who had written a post back in 2007 called My next 100 posts.
You might have guessed at this point, but I’ll just go ahead and lay it out there for you.
Here begins my own 100 post series.
There is one struggle that I keep coming back to when I think about building a personal brand in the wild and wooly world of Social Media. That is the struggle to keep your eyes on your own prize, whatever that may be, to keep your feet on your own path, whatever THAT may be, and to not let yourself get distracted by what everyone else is doing.
This is pretty hard, because let’s face it, in the world of Social Media, all you really see is what other people are doing. Most especially, you see and hear about the things that people are getting rewarded for. It can make you wonder if you’re really doing things the “right” way. Of course, there is no right way. There’s just your way. But still, it’s hard to remember that every day.
This is not an abstract line of thought for this here blogger. After 11 months of blogging, I have reached levels of success I could not have imagined even six months ago, when it seemed like getting comments was like getting a rational sentence out of Charlie Sheen – possible but not highly likely. On the other hand, my blog does not attract huge crowds, and I have seen other people who have been doing this for not much longer than me skyrocket to levels of success far beyond where I am. I keep asking myself if I am really okay with that. Maybe you are asking yourself similar questions.
For me, it all comes down to whether you are a bonsai or a sunflower.
This excellent contribution is by my friend Cristian Gonzales. Cristian Gonzales works in Digital Strategy for Socialarc. You may contact him at cristian.gonzales@socialarc.com, or on Twitter @galactic. You can also visit his Tumblr blog.
I used to work for one of the largest PR firms in the world. I was hired for an entry-level position on their digital team, which concentrated on finding insights for clients within social media. Though I’d never worked in social before, it felt as if the firm expected me to become an expert in the field within a very short amount of time. And part of what they expected me to know was everything and anything about Twitter.